Thought Can’t Be Legislated
Hello all,
My post about the “Jena 6″ got me thinking again, hopefully I won’t get myself into too much trouble. What I am thinking about?
Hate crimes!
Just the sound of it makes the civilized man shudder. People so vile and evil that their very thoughts are criminal and should be punished for. Hallelujah! Save us from ourselves, Great Hall of Justice!
Or we can live by my motto; “Don’t hate the haters, wait till they actually commit a real crime and put them in prison for the crime itself and not how they feel about someone.”
I know, my saying is a little long.
This is the definition of a Hate Crime as provided by the good people at Wikipedia.
Hate crimes (also known as bias motivated crimes) occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her membership in a certain social group, usually defined by race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, or political affiliation. Hate crimes differ from conventional crime because they are not directed simply at an individual, but are meant to cause fear and intimidation in an entire group or class of people.
I’m sorry to say this but all crimes are hate crimes, not just ones perpetrated against Blacks and Gays. Terrorism is a hate crime. A thief robbing your mom & pop store is a hate crime. Even bank robbery is a hate crime. A mugging is a hate crime.
The fact of the matter is; All crime is filled with hate and malice towards the target and their affiliated groups. A junkie mugs an old woman and he’s attacking her with a sense of hatred for the entire world since we’re not junkies and this loser is. Same goes with all robbery.
Probably the only crime that isn’t a hate crime is Identity Theft and Prostitution, though a case may be made that that prostitute hates herself. Can hating yourself be a hate crime? Does that mean suicide is a hate crime?
I’m sorry everyone but legislating the thoughts and feelings of people is wrong and takes one step closer to the Fascist PC Police State we know is looming ever closer. I’ve looked at this article on Wiki and find it scary that so many nations have adopted some sort of hate crime legislation. The list reads;
For Eurasian nations;
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- England and Wales
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Scotland
- Spain
- Sweden
Would you like to know which Eurasian countries don’t have hate crime laws in their books? Here they are; Albania, Cyprus, Estonia, Iceland, San Marino, and Slovenia.
As for those in my neck of the woods North America;
Canada
Since 1966 the Canadian Criminal Code has included a penalty-enhancement provision for crimes “motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or any other similar factor.” The Code also “punishes anyone who advocates or promotes genocide, with genocide defined to require that acts be committed with the intent to destroy in whole or in part any identifiable group. Identifiable group, in turn, is defined to mean any section of the public distinguished by colour, race, religion, ethnic origin or sexual orientation. Section 319, adopting the same definition of identifiable group, punishes the incitement or expression of hatred against such a group.” Civil remedies are also available in Canada for discriminatory acts.
United States
In the United States federal prosecution is possible for hate crimes committed on the basis of a person’s race, color, religion, or nation origin when engaging in a federally protected activity. 45 states and the District of Columbia have statutes criminalizing various types of hate crimes. 31 states and the District of Columbia have statutes creating a civil cause of action, in addition to the criminal penalty, for similar acts. 27 states and the District of Columbia have statutes requiring the state to collect hate crime statistics.
A moment to reflect…
Well that’s a little scary. That so many countries have adopted hate crime legislation. That though hate is horrible and evil and should be eradicated from our society, one can still get a harsher sentence simply for targeting the right person.
Is it right for a man to get a harsher sentence if he happens to mug a gay man? Does he need to have the intent to mug a gay man before it becomes a hate crime? If a black man mugs an old white woman is that a hate crime? Wait! What if 6 black youths beat a white boy half to death is that a hate crime? I wonder why those protesting against Mychal Bell’s incarceration are not arguing for keeping him in jail and asking that District Attorney Walter charge him and the others with a hate crime.
But being the neutral libertarian that I am we’ll have to charge all the teens who fought in these racially motivated brawls which the school ignored. I am okay with that.
In the Supreme Court case of Wisconsin v. Mitchell the esteemed judges decided that “bias-motivated crimes are more likely to provoke retaliatory crimes, inflict distinct emotional harms on their victims, and incite community unrest…”
I’m sorry but what crime doesn’t do that to some extent? You rape a woman and the husband wants to kill her attacker. A thief breaks into your neighbour’s home, you panic and buy a gun or get bigger locks on the doors. You are a victim of a crime and you will suffer emotional harm. In my youth I was robbed of $300 by a couple of black con men. I felt horribly abused and I suffered emotional harm. Do I think I was a victim of a hate crime? No.
It just seems wrong to me that when we divide the groups up by gender, race, sexual orientation or whatever the case may be and provide protection for them over others. I have stated previously that I am a Caucasian heterosexual, can I even be a victim of a hate crime? Or merely a perpetrator of such vile aggression?
Justin Barker was attacked for the color of his skin and for that the Jena 6 should be charged with a hate crime. I checked and Louisiana does have a hate crime statute which includes race as a prerequisite. So there we go, the Jena 6 committed a hate crime and should be punished even harder for their actions. I’ll bet the Rev. Al Sharpton would disagree with that statement.
I’m tired talking about all of this. I’ll let the world beyond my doors make up their own mind. I believe we have that right.
I bid adieu,
your Origami reporter,
L.Manly
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